This invention relates to an article carrier, more specifically to a carton having a reinforced integral strap handle structure which can be manipulated from a flat stowed position in which it overlies one of the carton walls into a raised position in which it is extended outwardly above that carton wall.
EP-A-89304604.5 relates to a carton having a reinforced handle structure in which end portions of the handle structure are displaceable inwardly into the carton when the carton is lifted by the handle structure so as to shorten the distance between the opposite ends of a central handle strip of the handle structure so that it can be upwardly moved away from the adjacent carton wall. The disclosed handle structure must be formed at the ends of the blank from which the carton is formed.
In designing such a handle structure of a carton for accommodating a relatively large number of articles, it is necessary to take account of the mechanical strength of the handle structure. In view of the intended contents of the carton, i.e., bottles or cans, as well as the manner in which a carton is to be lifted or carried, some flexibility of a specific location of the handle on the carton is desirable.
What is needed, therefore, is a carton with an integral handle structure having good mechanical strength and location flexibility and capable of being manipulated from a flat stowed position in which it overlies one of the carton walls into a raised position in which it is extended above that carton wall.